What’s Technorati’s M&A Future?

Maybe I’m out of the loop but something you don’t hear too much about these days is whether Technorati is a takeover target. It wasn’t that long ago that there was all kinds of speculation Technorati would be acquired by Google, Yahoo or Microsoft. Now, the buzz seems to have evaporated.
Maybe Technorati’s business model isn’t compelling enough to attract a buyer, or maybe its VC are demanding too high of a price tag, or maybe Technorati just wants to stay independent for a little while longer until the capital markets improve and it can do an IPO. I don’t know what to make of Technorati these days. It has a huge database of information about the blogosphere, a bunch of cool features and a CEO, Dave Sifry, who has all kinds of passion and energy. But it isn’t one of my go-to destinations every morning for whatever reason. Maybe Technorati’s M&A window of opportunity has come and gone but I suspect there’s probably a buyer out there somewhere.
A far more intriguing M&A target is FeedBurner, which now has more than 500,000 feeds and more than 300,000 publishers (blogs, etc.). Part of FeedBurner’s appeal is how it is helping traditional media such as Dow Jones establish a stronger online foothold at a time when they are under siege. FeedBurner also has a growing ad network business and moved into the blog search market with the purchase of Blogbeat earlier this year. If I was looking for an investment opportunity within the blog/RSS/content syndication worlds, FeedBurner strikes me as a far more compelling opportunity than Technorati.
Update: Juxtaviews recently did an interview with FeedBurner co-founder Matt Shobe.
Update II: Hitwise is reporting that Google Blog Search has surprised Technorati in market share visits. For some thoughts, check out the Next Net.

Technorati Tags: FeedBurner, M&A, Technorati